Franklin College has received $97,912 in continued federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support the third and final year of its “Creating a Community of Care” initiative, a comprehensive effort to strengthen student mental health services, suicide prevention and substance use education on campus.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services represents the final year of a three-year federal grant first awarded in 2024 to expand behavioral health resources and improve access to care to college students. Franklin College was one of 28 higher education institutions across the nation to be selected for funding.
“This continued investment allows us to build on the meaningful progress we’ve made over the past two years in supporting the well-being of our students,” said Franklin College President Kerry N. Prather. “Providing accessible, high-quality mental health resources is an essential part of helping our students thrive academically, socially and personally.”
Since receiving the grant, Franklin College has significantly expanded the mental health resources available to students. Among the most impactful additions has been Uwill, a teletherapy platform that connects students with licensed mental health professionals 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
“One of the greatest benefits of this grant is that students can have immediate access to support,” said Andrew Jones, Ed.D., vice president for student development and dean of students. “Whether it’s late at night, during a holiday break or while studying abroad, our students can connect with a licensed mental health professional whenever they need help, and that can be life-changing.”
The grant has also enabled Franklin College to strengthen its campus-wide approach to student well-being by establishing a multidisciplinary Behavioral Intervention Team that coordinates responses to students of concern, expanding suicide prevention education and outreach and implementing evidence-based screening tools to identify students who may benefit from additional support.
Since the initiative began, Franklin College has:
- Hired a full-time coordinator for the “Community of Care” initiative.
- Established a fully operational Behavioral Intervention Team to strengthen early intervention, coordinated care and campus response.
- Integrated Uwill teletherapy services into the Counseling Center, with utilization exceeding original projections. Since implementation, 72 students have used Uwill services over the past 18 months, and 56 are currently active users.
- Screened all first-year students using the College Student Inventory and assessed students receiving counseling services using evidence-based behavioral health screening tools.
- Expanded mental health education through campus programming, social media campaigns, awareness events and promotion of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
- Continued campus-wide Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training for faculty, staff and students, including cohorts in the physician assistant studies master’s program. To date, 179 members of the campus community have been trained, and an estimated 100 more will be trained in the fall.
During the grant’s final year, Franklin College will increase suicide prevention education and training, reduce stigma surrounding mental health and encourage students to seek help when they need it.
The SAMHSA-funded “Creating a Community of Care” initiative reflects Franklin College’s ongoing commitment to fostering a campus culture where students are supported, connected and equipped with the resources they need to succeed both inside and outside the classroom.
Contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8189 for more information.